The cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is about to go up worldwide, including in Canada.
In a July 9th email sent to Canadian subscribers, Microsoft confirmed that the price of its highest-tier Game Pass membership will go from $18.99 CAD/month to $22.99/month starting September 12th.
“We are planning to update our prices to address changing market conditions,” writes Microsoft in the email regarding the upcoming change to Game Pass Ultimate. “This price change allows us to continue to bring you more value and great games for the very best gaming experience.”
The email also mentions a new Game Pass option called ‘Standard’ will launch in September. This service will cost $14.99 USD/month (about $20.44 CAD — no official Canadian price has been mentioned yet) and offer “hundreds of Game Pass titles.” However, Xbox’s official support page is vague about what Standard won’t include, and Windows Central reports that these it this membership won’t have no day one additions or titles from Xbox’s back catalogue. However, online multiplayer will be included.
Additionally, there will be changes to the other existing Game Pass memberships:
- Game Pass for PC — going up to $14.99/month (was $11.99/month)
- Game Pass Core — going up to $87.99/year (was $69.99/year)
Game Pass for PC includes hundreds of Game Pass titles, including day one additions, as well as an EA Play membership. Game Pass Core, meanwhile, is a console subscription offering a small catalogue of 25-plus games plus online multiplayer.
Finally, Game Pass for Console (which is listed on a separate page) is $12.99/month and offers the full Game Pass catalogue (including day one games) but no online play. However, Game Pass for Console will soon end for new customers, meaning Standard will be the new default for console players. Existing members will be able to keep it, though, at least for now — Microsoft says to look out for a message from Xbox in your inbox for more details.
In its original email announcing the Ultimate price hike, the company goes on to mention several perks of Game Pass Ultimate, including day one titles from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks and, following its $69 billion acquisition last year, Activision Blizzard. The company also says Game Pass now has “more than triple the number of high-quality games” since it launched in 2017.
Of course, the timing of the price increase is quite notable, as it comes right before Xbox-owned Activision will make the landmark move of launching this year’s Call of Duty, Black Ops 6, directly to Game Pass on day one on October 24th. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from Wolfenstein developer Machine Games is another upcoming big-budget Xbox game, and it will also come directly to Game Pass on day one sometime later this year.
Update: 09/07/2024 at 6:17pm ET — Updated to include Game Pass for Console, which is listed on a separate page from Game Pass for PC and Game Pass Core but is another option for users. We also added more details about Game Pass Standard.
Update 2: 09/07/2024 at 6:49pm ET — Updated to include new pricing for other Game Pass memberships.
Image credit: Activision
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